1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for high performance switching in local area communications networks such as token ring, ATM, ethernet, fast ethernet, and gigabit ethernet environments, generally known as LANs. In particular, the invention relates to a new switching architecture in an integrated, modular, single chip solution, which can be implemented on a semiconductor substrate such as a silicon chip.
2. Description of the Related Art
As computer performance has increased in recent years, the demands on computer networks has significantly increased; faster computer processors and higher memory capabilities need networks with high bandwidth capabilities to enable high speed transfer of significant amounts of data. The well-known ethernet technology, which is based upon numerous IEEE ethernet standards, is one example of computer networking technology which has been able to be modified and improved to remain a viable computing technology. A more complete discussion of prior art networking systems can be found, for example, in SWITCHED AND FAST ETHERNET, by Breyer and Riley (Ziff-Davis, 1996), and numerous IEEE publications relating to IEEE 802 standards. Based upon the Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) 7-layer reference model, network capabilities have grown through the development of repeaters, bridges, routers, and, more recently, xe2x80x9cswitchesxe2x80x9d, which operate with various types of communication media. Thickwire, thinwire, twisted pair, and optical fiber are examples of media which has been used for computer networks. Switches, as they relate to computer networking and to ethernet, are hardware-based devices which control the flow of data packets or cells based upon destination address information which is available in each packet. A properly designed and implemented switch should be capable of receiving a packet and switching the packet to an appropriate output port at what is referred to wirespeed or linespeed, which is the maximum speed capability of the particular network. Basic ethernet wirespeed is up to 10 megabits per second, and Fast Ethernet is up to 100 megabits per second. The newest ethernet is referred to as gigabit ethernet, and is capable of transmitting data over a network at a rate of up to 1,000 megabits per second. As speed has increased, design constraints and design requirements have become more and more complex with respect to following appropriate design and protocol rules and providing a low cost, commercially viable solution. For example, high speed switching requires high speed memory to provide appropriate buffering of packet data; conventional Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) is relatively slow, and requires hardware-driven refresh. The speed of DRAMs, therefore, as buffer memory in network switching, results in valuable time being lost, and it becomes almost impossible to operate the switch or the network at linespeed. Furthermore, external CPU involvement should be avoided, since CPU involvement also makes it almost impossible to operate the switch at linespeed. Additionally, as network switches have become more and more complicated with respect to requiring rules tables and memory control, a complex multi-chip solution is necessary which requires logic circuitry, sometimes referred to as glue logic circuitry, to enable the various chips to communicate with each other. Additionally, cost/benefit tradeoffs are necessary with respect to expensive but fast SRAMs versus inexpensive but slow DRAMs. Additionally, DRAMs, by virtue of their dynamic nature, require refreshing of the memory contents in order to prevent losses thereof. SRAMs do not suffer from the refresh requirement, and have reduced operational overhead which compared to DRAMs such as elimination of page misses, etc. Although DRAMs have adequate speed when accessing locations on the same page, speed is reduced when other pages must be accessed.
Referring to the OSI 7-layer reference model discussed previously, and illustrated in FIG. 7, the higher layers typically have more information. Various types of products are available for performing switching-related functions at various levels of the OSI model. Hubs or repeaters operate at layer one, and essentially copy and xe2x80x9cbroadcastxe2x80x9d incoming data to a plurality of spokes of the hub. Layer two switching-related devices are typically referred to as multiport bridges, and are capable of bridging two separate networks. Bridges can build a table of forwarding rules based upon which MAC (media access controller) addresses exist on which ports of the bridge, and pass packets which are destined for an address which is located on an opposite side of the bridge. Bridges typically utilize what is known as the xe2x80x9cspanning treexe2x80x9d algorithm to eliminate potential data loops; a data loop is a situation wherein a packet endlessly loops in a network looking for a particular address. The spanning tree algorithm defines a protocol for preventing data loops. Layer three switches, sometimes referred to as routers, can forward packets based upon the destination network address. Layer three switches are capable of learning addresses and maintaining tables thereof which correspond to port mappings. Processing speed for layer three switches can be improved by utilizing specialized high performance hardware, and off loading the host CPU so that instruction decisions do not delay packet forwarding.
A network switch for network communications includes a first data port interface. The first data port interface supports a plurality of data ports transmitting and receiving data at a first data rate. A second data port interface is provided; the second data port interface supports a plurality of data ports transmitting and receiving data at a second data rate. A CPU interface is provided, with the CPU interface configured to communicate with a CPU. An internal memory is provided, and communicates with the first data port interface and the at least one second data port interface. A memory management unit is provided, and includes an external memory interface for communicating data from at least one of the first data port interface and the second data port interface and an external memory. A communication channel is provided, with the communication channel communicating data and messaging information between the first data port interface, the second data port interface, the internal memory, and the memory management unit. A plurality of semiconductor-implemented lookup tables are provided, with the lookup tables including address resolution lookup/layer three lookup, rules tables, and VLAN tables. One of the first data port interface and the second data port interface is configured to update the address resolution lookup table based upon newly learned layer two addresses. An update to an address table associated with an initial data port interface of the first and second data port interfaces results in the initial data port interface sending a synchronization signal to other address resolution tables in the network switch. Therefore, all address resolution tables on the network switch are synchronized on a per entry basis. A learning and an accessing of an address in the address resolution lookup table results in the setting of a hit bit. The hit bit is unset by the initial data port interface after a first predetermined time period. The entry is deleted if the hit bit is not reset for a second predetermined period of time.
The invention also includes a method of switching data in a network switch. The method comprises the steps of receiving an incoming packet at a first port, then reading a first packet portion, less than a full packet length, to determine particular packet information. The particular packet information includes a source address and a destination address. The particular packet information is compared to information contained in a lookup table. If a match is made, the packet is modified to include appropriate forwarding and routing information based on the matching entry. The packet is then sent on a communication channel to a selected memory buffer. If there is no match, the particular packet information is learned and placed as a second entry in the lookup table. The packet information is modified to indicate that the packet is to be sent to all ports on the network switch. The packet is then sent to the selected memory buffer. The packet is then retrieved from the selected memory buffer, and sent to appropriate destination ports as indicated in the modified packet information.
The invention is also directed to a network switch for network communications containing first and second data port interfaces, a CPU interface, an internal memory, a memory management unit, an external memory interface, and a communication channel as discussed above. This embodiment also includes a protocol determining means for determining whether an incoming packet is an IP packet or an IPX packet. L3 lookup tables, IP router tables, and IPX router tables are provided. A concurrent lookup is performed of the L3 lookup table, and either the IP router table or the IPX router table, depending upon the determination of the packet type. If a match is found on the L3 table, the packet is forwarded based on the L3 match. If no match is found on the L3 lookup, then a longest prefix cache lookup is performed on the appropriate IP or IPX router table, and the packet is forwarded based upon the match of the longest prefix cache lookup. If no match is provided, then the packet is forwarded to the CPU interface.